Luka has lost so much athleticism at such a young age

[monopoman]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

During training Michael Phelps had to eat a ridiculous amount of food to not massively lose weight with the amount of time he spent swimming every day.

I could see players gaining a bit of weight in the off-season, but it just doesn't seem like it's possible during the season.

[Mavrelous]

Luka declined athelitcially in the 22/23, he had his best season last year while being unatheltic.
Luka was the best finisher around the rim in the league, incliding centers, he's afraid to shoot around the rim and not trusting his floaters and bankers, it's disappointing, but it's not because of athleticism loss.
His 3 point shot was great last year, but it was the only year it was great, so maybe it's jist regressing to the means.
Add to that the fact that Draymond and Looney are the best Luka stoppers in the league and people are reacting to a GS game.

[vxmike]

Nico was cooking something. I’m not saying he made a 5 star meal, he used way too much seasoning and spilled the dish all over the counter. But there is undeniably something to the Luka decline.

Trading Luka is completely defendable.

The return they got for Luka was a joke. I bet 99% of casual Lakers fan even think it’s a bad deal for Dallas. Worst deal in NBA history for a superstar at the time of trade.

[tribulations]

I only really caught onto this a year or so ago but the fall-off really is enormous. He's like 2K with no turbo button now.

IMO not something fixed simply by dropping weight, the wear and tear from all the miles on the clock is showing.

That said, always a fan and his 'old man game' is still elite.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Nico was cooking something. I’m not saying he made a 5 star meal, he used way too much seasoning and spilled the dish all over the counter. But there is undeniably something to the Luka decline.

Trading Luka is completely defendable.

The return they got for Luka was a joke. I bet 99% of casual Lakers fan even think it’s a bad deal for Dallas. Worst deal in NBA history for a superstar at the time of trade.

Im confused. So it wasn't a bad deal for Dallas?

[UcanUwill]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

During training Michael Phelps had to eat a ridiculous amount of food to not massively lose weight with the amount of time he spent swimming every day.

I could see players gaining a bit of weight in the off-season, but it just doesn't seem like it's possible during the season.

Depends on the body, my body now gains every weight I eat, its crazy, I basically eat just every few days, otherwise I just gain weight all the time, and I am physically active nowadays, I am not pro athlete, but still, I barely eat food. I really didn't have this problem 15 years ago, but now, maybe cause of medication and age, I just basically gain almost 100% of what I eat and drink it seems, I need to starve all the time just to break even. If I not doing that, I can gain 5 kilos in a week, and thats not being a pig, but just eating normal trashy food.

If Luka has similar problem to mine, I totally understand why would he be fat. Do not forget that the harder you work out, the more food your body wants, it doesn't matter if you have extra fat on you, so if hes not like me and just starving 3 days a week, he will gain weight.

[UcanUwill]

I say this as someone who thinks Luka is the 2nd best player in the world after Jokic but it’s not just that he’s not as thin as he used to be. He flat out looks sick and unhealthy. Just compare how his face looked back then compared to now. Watching that video is just depressing. I don’t know what could cause such a steep decline in a very short period of time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something nefarious. That version of Luka with 5 years of experience under his belt could average a 40 point triple double. That would be the league’s worst nightmare

I think he has a legitimate alcohol and smoking issue. There are plenty of sources you can look up where he's been caught overindulging in these activities during his off-time. I remember this one story from a few years ago when he was playing for the national team during the offseason, he was spotted smoking and drinking beers on the days before important games

What do you think these guys do when they say they're going to the clubs etc? You think they're all drinking spring water or something? You think they don't go out...like A LOT.

I tell you what, for all you know he doesn't drink/smoke as much as the next dude in the NBA, but just doesn't put the work in to get it off. Plenty of sauces where he's been caught overindulging. Stop making crap up man.

Oh what? That's insane. He was "spotted", wait for it, smoking, and drinking, on the days BEFORE important games? Quick, someone call the authorities.
So let me get this straight, if someone smoked before, like days as you say, like on a Wednesday when the game is on a Friday or Saturday, then...what?
FFS guys are smoking weed in the NBA on the morning of games.

Weed and cigarettes is different. I am not saying smoking weed before games is fine, but smoking cigarettes as pro athlete is pretty bad I would say, it just something you shouldn't be doing.

[Liam_Gallagher]

He looks shorter in the bubble.

[Johnny Firpo]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

Well then, sorry to say this, but you know very little about fitness. You can easily "outeat" an active lifestyle, or even an athlete's lifestyle. Luka's maintenance is likely around 3000 calories, you can easily eat that. A large cheat meal is like 1800-2000 alone.

[TheShow2021]

I think we should wait into the next season to judge him. He needs an offseason to get his health and fitness in check. And one would think, Lebron could help him there. Hopefully Luka gets into HGH (or GH peptides) and EPO.

But yes, the fear is legitimate, that he peaked last year and is on the decline, especially if he is unwilling to take undetectable PEDs (like the ones I mentioned above).

[LuckyGreen7]

It kind of blows my mind that any player could eat so much to get fat, assuming they are doing the work outs and practices I assume they are.

During training Michael Phelps had to eat a ridiculous amount of food to not massively lose weight with the amount of time he spent swimming every day.

I could see players gaining a bit of weight in the off-season, but it just doesn't seem like it's possible during the season.

It's not the food. It's the food + heavy alcohol consumption. That combination can easily get you pudgy even with an NBA schedule.

Two things are happening here.

#1 when you drink, the body works to eliminate the booze from your system before it processes food. So what happens? You don't start burning off the food until you are sleeping and burning at a slow rate. This is also the logic behind not eating late at night.

#2 Regular over indulgence creates a body state of increased cortisol. The body stores excess fat as a stress response to cortisol.

It's not so much the occasional clubbing that's the problem here. It's the daily maintenance drinking he's obviously doing. I guarantee it comes out someday that Luka wasted his prime years as a raging alcoholic. It's sad to see. If he quit drinking, he'd drop 30# easily in a matter of months and be back to what he once was.

This is why he was traded. I guarantee the Mavs front office saw a guy that has a problem he refuses to address. The trade to LA should have been a wakeup call. He should have already made major changes and you'd be seeing noticeable results already this season. The fact that he hasn't doesn't give me hope he will all of sudden get his act together this summer. One would have thought a finals loss would have motivated him to change his lifestyle last off season. Nope

[JustBuzzin]

Dude needs to get serious about his weight and conditioning.

[LordCovington33]

Nico was cooking something. I’m not saying he made a 5 star meal, he used way too much seasoning and spilled the dish all over the counter. But there is undeniably something to the Luka decline.

Less so the food and more so the alcohol. His face is bloated.

[Big_Aristotle]

Put him on GLP-1's already. You'd assume it lowers his appetite for food and drinks.

[jokeboy86]

He’s the modern Shaq. When he’s off company time, he relaxes and does what he wants and when he’s on company time he uses that to get back in shape. That’s exactly the approach Shaq says he took. So like Shaq, Luka probably won’t ever be the best player ever but an all time great and maybe top 15-25 ever.

Two things may work for Luka or against him though which could change things.

Unlike Shaq who could get away with being out of shape cause he was C and how they played at the time, Luka is a G so his conditioning lacking could eventually catch up with him.

The other thing which could maybe help Luka is LeBron. Don’t know if him and Lebron are close or could get close but LeBron’s work ethic and the way he treats his body all year round could inspire Luka to do the same or LeBron could serve as a mentor. Barkley said it was Moses and Erving who got him to start taking his weight more seriously whereas Shaq never had the older vet to pull him to the side and say take the off season seriously and work on your flaws. Come to think of it I don’t think Shaq ever had that older player whose advice he would even listen to that would’ve made him work on his flaws. Probably the reason he has such an ego today and always has had one

[Frankie]

Parallels with Eden Hazard lol, though he wasn't a drinker or smoker, he just liked eating unhealthy fast food.

He got by on his talent and being young enough to be able to spend the first portion of each new season working his way back to full fitness and losing the excess weight he always gained in the offseason. Injuries eventually took it's toll on his career when he got to his late 20s. He was semi-retired by 30 and fully retired by 32.

[pontius]

Luka has spent a decade playing at the highest level in Europe and America. Age, mileage, gradually slowing metabolism, and bad habits could have already caught up to him quickly and unexpectedly. I think it was Rubio who talked about how he began to feel the weight of his early years in Europe as he got older and had trouble staying in shape.

[Johnny Firpo]

He is clearly much slower, but this doesn't have to be permanent. I think he is still playing himself back into a better shape, and yeah, he will have to lose weight during the offseason and just be a better professional for next year.

[hauntedcomputer]

If he really is an alcoholic, that pretty much covers all of it.

Plenty of people go clubbing who aren't alcoholics. Alcoholics are drinking outside the club, not just in it. I am quite intimate with the disease but only he can say it. A lot harder to give up than food, and a lot more damaging.

[Jazz9]

Forget bubble Luka, he hasn't looked or moved like that for a while now.
But it was perfecty fine still. He had a monster year just last year while being heavier and slower. Thing is he could still do whatever he wanted out there.
The issue now is that he's lost some athleticism even compared to last year and just can't get by people consistently to get to his spots.
His conditioning is worse, he's losin his legs quickly in a game and that also affects his shot.
And talking about his shot, it's just broken in general now.
He can still get hot from three in stretches but his midrange and even his finishing near the basket is gone.
And that contributes to some of his current confidence woes.
He's not the same guy out there and watching him it's clear he knows that.
I was expecting him to be rusty coming back from injury but it's been almost 2 months now since his first Lakers game and he doesn't look one bit better. Not one.